The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-08-15
STRUGGLING FOR EXISTENCE.
The People of Newfoundland De-
prived of Support.
Despair Caused by the Failure of the
Labrador Fisheries.
A Debt Laden Government Providing
for Destitute Multitude,
Especial to the Press.l

ST. JOHNS, N. f., Aug 14-The news of
the utter failure of the Labrador fisheries
received to-day confirms the worst fears OF
the people. The alarming news is received
that one thousand vessels are coming back
clear and the other five hundred crafts have
only few quintals of fish each. This is the
most disastrous of all disasters of late years,
and has produced an indescribgble feeling of
gloom and despair. For months past, hopes
of the people of this colony have centred on
Labrador. Newfoundland's one industry is
fishing. While the population has been
rapidly increasing the fisheries have for some
years past been going from bad to worse with
startling rapidity. Within three years, the
value of our exports (nineteen twentieths
fish has declined $2,2OO,00O while the value
of the imports show a falling of $3,111,00O,
and the revenue is proportionately decreased.
During the same period the expenditure has
rapidly increased owing to large government
expenditures to keep the people from alb
solute starvation nhtifthe public debt has
doubled within three brief years. Last
year the Labrador and Newfoundland shore
fisheries were failures and the direst distress
consequently plCfdilCQ ldot WlutChs WhOA
thousands Of people were only saved from
perishing by government support. As it
was, there was terrible suffering and many
deaths fIom starvation.
There has been wholesale exodus of
Newfoundlanders this year. Colonies of
fishermen have gone to the Pacific coast to
begin life anew in the rich fisheries reported
there. Those who could gather together
enough money to get away have gone and
every outgoing steamer during the season
has been so crowded that frequently passen-
gers have been left behind. The people who
remained concluded that things could not
possibly be worse and that turn in the
tide must come after such a succession of
disasters. The bank cod fisheries were more
largely prosecuted than ever aud are fairly
successful, but the shore fisheries opened
with ominous misgivings of failure. For
the first month there were such enormous
quantities of ice along the coast that prac-
teally nothing was done. A wall of agoni-
zing distress came up from starving people all
along thousand miles of coast. They could
not only get no fish themselves but they
could not sell their bait to French and
American fishermen, who were waiting to
buy.
Then came the terrible drouth of two
months without rain during which the few
crops mat are grown in patches along the
shore were shrivelled up. The shore fisher
les continued poor, and hoping against hope
the people turned longing eyes to Labrador.
Thirty thousand people go from Newfound-
land to Labrador every spring to fish, They
go down in small crafts in whole families
and live semi-civilized life on. hard tack
and rock cod during the summer, each small
schooner having fifteen to twenty men and
women indiscriminately mixed together In
the most barbarous manner. Another twen-
ty thousand people are dependent upon the
success of those who go there to fish. These
people go in debt for their supplies and sole
ly depend on their seasons work to pay for
supplies and keep them through the long
and bitter winter. Five hundred quintals
per vessel is a fair catch. That gives those
the catch averaged less than two hundred
quintals, and there was semi-starvation all
along the coast. The whole hope of the peo-
pie consequently depend upon this years
catch. AS late as the oath Of July, the steam
er Lady Glover" could not get farther north
than Cape Harrison, owing to the jam of ice
extending from Ragged Island northward:
A few green fish catchers managed to get
down but no fish were going at Ragged Is
land or Cape Harrison. Ice is still hanging
about and nothing of any consequence had
been done. No fish are at Gerge's Island,
Tub Barbor, Indian Island, Packs Harbor,
independent or Leg Islands. They are doing
fairly from Grady to Battau but from that
up the fishery is miserable failure. Cape
Harrison, where the ice prevents the pas
sage of craft is between the east entrance of
the Strait Of Belle Isle and Cape Mugford.
Between Harrison and Mugford, the fishing
stations are numerous and important. Be
low Mugford they are few in number. The
locality where the fishery is reported fair
(rom Grady to Batteau) takes in but a com
paratively small portion of the coast The
rest of the vast shore line of Labrador, ex-
cepting the Strait of Belle Isle was, to the
10th of july barren of results. Still the
papers urged the people not to give way to
despair, but to still hope for good reports
from Labrador The last report of the sea-
son has now come to hand and without the
least hope the people for this year has pass
ed away. The northern Labrador fisheries
are total failure. Even the Straits of Belle
Isle fisheries are below those of last year,
while from Cape Race northward, the fishery
is such an utter failure that it will not aver
age five quintals per man.
The outlook for the coming winter is con-
sequently worse than it was last year, while
from the present appearances nothing but
transportation to the United States or Cana
da, or subsistence at the entire support of
the government will save the whole resident
population of Labrador from slowly starving
to death.